Global Oscars comes to Berks on Oct. 6

September 28, 2016

This fall, as part of the Global Studies degree program's "Global Oscars Comes to Berks," Penn State Berks will present three films: "Mustang" on Thursday, Oct. 6; "A War" on Thursday, Nov. 3; and Son of Saul, on Thursday, Dec. 1; all at 6 p.m. in room 121 of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. All three films are free and open to the public.

"Mustang," a 2015 French Drama set in a small village in Turkey, follows the lives of five beautiful young sisters whose home is transformed into a prison after their extremely conservative elders witness them playing innocently with some boys. The sisters struggle to retain their freedom as their guardians begin arranging forced marriages while they are confined within their house.

"A War" is a 2015 Danish film about the difficult choices that are presented during war and their devastating consequences. The story is set in Afghanistan and follows a Danish commander, Claus M. Pedersen, who is accused of civil murder during a routine mission in order to save his men.

"Son of Saul," a 2015 Hungarian film that won the 2016 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, recreated the horrors of 1944 Auschwitz. A Hungarian prisoner by the name of Saul Auslander is given work at the Auschwitz Crematorium to burn the corpses of his own people. However, he salvages the body of a boy he believes is his son and is determined, by any costs, to give the boy a proper burial.

For more information about the Global Cinema Series, contact Kirk Shaffer, associate professor of Latin American studies, at 610-396-6258, or via email at krs14@psu.edu.